For QA workstations preparation (Windows-based PCs) our IT department uses typical batch deployment tools. I'm not at all interested in the details of such process, but IT guys ask me:

What typical set of software you need for everyday *manual* testing tasks? We could include these in our deployment so that you guys could save more time for testing, not for environment prep & tuning.

Sure thing we do test various range of projects, from web applications to standalone solutions, and each application requires its own set of tools for manual testing, e.g.:

Browsers

Virtualization utilities

DB clients

Screens capturing tools

FTP clients

XML editors

etc.

However, and that's for sure - there's a list of tools every QA MUST have installed on its PC, regardless of project types under testing. My area of experience is mostly standalone / complex web apps, that's why my vision on the task is a bit subjective.

So, your suggestions of what are tools / software an average QA specialist can't live without will be highly appreciated. 2 assumptions:

14 Answers
14

Assuming you exclude the systems used to execute the application-under-test (Operating System, Browser, etc) there are no tools a tester cannot live without. There are many tools that make testing stronger, more thorough, easier, faster, and/or more efficient.

We use bug tracking tools, text reading/editing/printing tools, document storage and retrieval tools for pretty much everything we do.

And we use lots more tools on many of the things we do. Here are some:

Our systems tend to have fairly comprehensive logs which provide a lot of useful information for analyzing the results of tests. BareTail makes it easy to watch several logs simultaneously, and highlight areas of interest.

Often our testing involves comparing the recent output to baselines. Sometimes the output comes from our system-under-test, sometimes the output is created during our automated tests. WinMerge makes comparison with the baseline, and analysis of the differences, very efficient.

Small little tool that let's you record a short video of the screen. I personally use this when taking screenshots or attempting to explain an issue becomes difficult. The next best thing is to record the problem. It also saves the clip on the cloud so you don't have to worry about finding a location to host the video.

VirtualBox (Virtual Machine):

Definitely the most important tool that I use on a daily basis. Installed every single OS that we currently support and created several snapshots of the OS's in different states. Example, every OS has a snapshot when its first installed, so I can go back to a "brand new OS". Each OS also has a snapshot of the different SP's in case we need to go back and check if something changed in between SP releases. This way, I can test something and then revert it back whenever needed.

Evernote (Notes):

Another tool that I use on a daily basis. Keeps all my notes, none private customer information, to-do lists, etc.. Its really great as it syncs with all your devices. This way, I have access to my information on any device when I need it. Example, if I get an email asking about a particular issue that needs urgent attention, I can always take a look at my notes even if I am not in front of a machine.

Kamil, are these free apps? If they are I'm definitely getting the first 2, and maybe the notes one too.
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corsiKa♦Jun 27 '13 at 15:42

corsiKa, Yup! VirtualBox is created by Oracle and is completely free. Jing and Evernote are also free but you can buy premium packages to add more space etc.. Been using the free versions for over 2 years and didn't need to update to premium yet.
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KamilJun 27 '13 at 15:49

One of the most important tools I use all the time is virtual machines. I have a library of different test environments saved and if I need to test something in any one of those environments I just fire up that VM. The ability to snapshot the virtual machine means that I can corrupt the environment and very easily come back to a pristine state.

I would hate to be a (manual) tester in a world without virtual machine capabilities...

Hi Ron, thanks for the answer!.. What's the virtual platform you use most - VMware, VirtualBox or smth else?
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Peter L.Apr 19 '13 at 5:45

Welcome to SQA, Ron! I have to agree, when I was writing enterprise software, we had a VM for almost every combination we could think of. Different OS's, memory configurations, CPU configurations, security settings (an underpatched system is almost like a totally different OS from the same one patched!), etc. It helped flesh out a significant amount of bugs during automated testing, and its shining moment is helping respond to client support issues much faster.
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corsiKa♦Apr 19 '13 at 15:19

welcome to SQA. The answer would be more useful if you provided specifics examples of the tools and how you have used them in the past.
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Dan SnellJun 23 '13 at 18:09

The tools i specified has lots of benefits, as you asked i used perlclip for boundary testing, character validation purpose, etc. and you can view the website which i specified in the answer to get more details about it. The usage of the tools depends on your requirement.
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VigneshJun 24 '13 at 5:26